PSAT Writing and Language Practice Question 394
Question: 394
1 When I was young, I could not put down books. I read all the Harry Potter books several times over and was a big fan of other fantasy and science fiction texts. Once I entered middle school, I lost much of the joy of reading. 2 Since I loved reading for fun, I had to read certain books for summer reading. Not only did I have to read them, I had to take careful notes on the texts 3 from when school started again, there would inevitably be a major reading test. I suppose it is like going to see a 4 movie—if you had to take notes for a quiz while watching the film, you would probably just stay out in the lobby!
[1] Fortunately, my new English teacher helped reawaken my love of reading. [2] Not surprisingly, when you can read a book that actually interests you, you tend to do much better when it comes to recall. [3] 5 In contrast, I don't even mind taking a few notes or highlighting key phrases if it helps me understand a well-written story's plot. 6 Rather than forcing us to read certain books, she gave us considerable leeway in choosing which books most interested us.
My newfound attitude toward reading comes at just the right time. I am about to take some much more challenging AP courses, and 7 you surely cannot believe what happened, there will be some material in the classes that will be rather dry. If I still had my middle-school mentality toward reading, I would likely surf the web for book summaries instead of actually reading the texts. 8 On the other hand, I am able to find interesting articles and blogs to divert my attention from studying.
Correct Answer: C
Explanation:
(C) A cause-and-effect transition is needed here because the narrator is stating that she has to take notes so that she could be prepared for the test upon her return from vacation—choice (C) is the only option that provides a cause-and-effect transition.